boy meets boy

Apparently the big gay news this weekend is that one of the characters in the Harry Potter universe is, lo and behold, gay. It's being reported on 365gay and AfterElton. Of course, I did check to make sure that it was also reported in mainstream news, and it's right there in Newsweek.

(New York City) Harry Potter fans, the rumors are true: Albus Dumbledore, master wizard and Headmaster of Hogwarts, is gay. J.K. Rowling, author of the mega-selling fantasy series that ended last summer, outed the beloved character Friday night while appearing before a full house at Carnegie Hall.

After reading briefly from the final book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," she took questions from audience members.

She was asked by one young fan whether Dumbledore finds "true love."

"Dumbledore is gay," the author responded to gasps and applause.

She then explained that Dumbledore was smitten with rival Gellert Grindelwald, whom he defeated long ago in a battle between good and bad wizards. "Falling in love can blind us to an extent," Rowling said of Dumbledore's feelings, adding that Dumbledore was "horribly, terribly let down."

Dumbledore's love, she observed, was his "great tragedy." . . .

Rowling told the audience that while working on the planned sixth Potter film, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," she spotted a reference in the script to a girl who once was of interest to Dumbledore. A note was duly passed to director David Yates, revealing the truth about her character.

It's interesting to read the comments others are making on this. Some are indignant about it because she couldn't be bothered to have any gay characters at Hogwarts and blah blah blah. And then she announces that one is gay only to reveal him as an "old Celluloid closet queen." Others like to point out that the books are told from Harry's viewpoint, and he has a tendency to be, well, a bit dense.

Personally, I'm not sure that it matters. Except that there had been rumors before that if she were to pick up the Harry Potter universe in a book again, she would tell Dumbledore's story. I had figured that after the final volume, that would be out. Of course, this bit of information casts a different reading on the story as we've witnessed it through Harry's eyes.